


Love Stinks

by kittys_devil, Melesmeles



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Collaboration, Community: pod-together, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Learning to be Loved, M/M, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-28
Updated: 2012-07-28
Packaged: 2017-11-10 22:59:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/471646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittys_devil/pseuds/kittys_devil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melesmeles/pseuds/Melesmeles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love didn't exist, relationships never worked and nothing was going to change Frank's mind. Until Frank gave up, Mikey got engaged and Gerard showed up late to a fitting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Stinks

**Author's Note:**

> This was written by kittys_devil and recorded by Melesmeles.
> 
> Author's notes: Title is from [ Love Stinks](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LAs7X5ybE) by J. Geils Band. Thanks to tommyglitter for the amazing beta work and cheerleading!! Also, thanks to Lizibabes for the push my muse needed when I got stuck! This is a fill for my hurt/comfort bingo, learning to be loved square.
> 
> Thanks to the mods for their hard work on this challenge! It has been a fun experience!  
> 

Reader's notes: Here is the link to the podficced version! Hope you all enjoy. :)

18:52.

[MP3](http://pod-together.parakaproductions.com/2012/B-Love%20Stinks.mp3)   
[M4B](http://pod-together.parakaproductions.com/2012/B-Love%20Stinks%20by%20kittys_devil%20&%20Melesmeles.m4b)

 

Or download on [Mediafire (mp3)!](http://www.mediafire.com/?84b5aqy5mqaqk65)

~*~

Love didn’t exist. Frank was sure of that. He’d watched as his parents fights got bigger and louder, up until his dad left. His friends had shared when the same thing happened in their families and their parents split up. It seemed that no one he knew was really in love, not like in the movies. It was just something someone dreamed up so theaters and card makers would make money.

Even though he didn’t believe in love, Frank tried to date from the time his hormones kicked in, but every relationship he had sucked. He felt he was good looking, but he was convinced there weren’t many girls who’d date someone that was shorter than they were. Especially if they had shoulder length black hair, like his. After a few failed tries at dating, Frank just brushed it off as petty high school stuff. Nothing about high school was ever supposed to be serious anyway; it was more about getting off and having fun.

When he got to college and lived in the dorm, he watched as couples would go off together, and all he wanted to do was laugh at them. They might think they were in love, but Frank knew better. In a few years or so, they too would be calling it quits.

Frank wasn’t looking for love, he was looking for a good time, where everyone got off and then went home. He didn’t care if it was girls or guys, as long as everyone left happy. He just didn’t see the point in dating; it would all end in a disaster when they both realized it was only lust, not love.

It was at a party in one of the frat houses when he met Craig. Frank hadn’t been there long when he saw the tall man dancing. His black shirt was snug, showing a body built as if he spent all his time working out. The man had a beautiful face with piercing green eyes and perfect lips that parted slightly as he moved against the bodies on the dance floor. Frank wanted to feel the muscles underneath that tight shirt press him into the nearest flat surface as the stranger pounded into him. Frank licked his lips as he moved through the crowd of people until he was standing in front of him.

“I’m Frank,” Frank said with a smile.

“Hey baby! I’m Craig. Dance with me?” Craig asked as he turned Frank around and grabbed his waist.

Frank smiled and moved his body closer until he could feel the press of Craig’s half-hard cock against his ass. Frank was looking for a hook up, nothing more, and this man was just what he needed. They danced for most of the night, until Craig pulled Frank away from the party in the main room of the frat house and down the hall to his room. Frank passed out after they fucked and spent the night, something he usually avoided.

“Fuck,” Frank whispered to himself when he woke up and realized what he had done.

“Hum?” Craig mumbled back at him, half asleep.

“Just, I gotta go. It was fun…” Frank trailed off as he climbed out of bed and searched for his pants.

Craig reached out, and grabbed Frank’s wrist and stopped him from going any further. “Let me take you to breakfast,” he said in a rush as he held on to Frank’s wrist.

Frank could feel the panic rise up in his chest. He wasn’t looking for something more. When he looked down and saw the pleading look in Craig’s eyes, his mouth said yes before his brain could stop it.

Breakfast turned out to be no big deal, just pancakes and coffee at a small diner. By the time Frank drank his third cup of coffee and finished eating most of his food, he felt braver.

“So, this,” Frank said gesturing between them with his hands, “isn’t something I usually do. I don’t do relationships.”

“So we don’t call it that. We’re two guys hanging out. If it leads to more, great, if not then at least we had some fun,” Craig said with a smirk on his face.

Frank couldn’t find a way to argue with that. When Craig asked him out on a date for the following week, Frank said yes. They stayed together for almost nine months; right up until the night Frank caught him making out with some twink at a bar. Frank told him to fuck off and left. Frank felt so betrayed. He wasn’t in love with Craig, but there was still _something_ there. He had taken the relationship seriously and until that night, and he thought Craig had as well.

_He’s the one that pushed!_ Frank thought as he drove back to his dorm room. By the time he stepped inside, Frank didn’t know if he was more hurt or pissed. He didn’t love Craig, nor was he looking for anything serious, but nine months was still a commitment.

Frank swung the door open hard as he came into the dorm room. Mikey, his skinny blonde haired roommate, looked up and raised his eyebrows as if he wanted to know why Frank was back already.

“You okay, Frank?” Mikey asked, as he paused the video game he was playing.

“Fucking ass was fucking making out with a fucking twink. I told you Mikey. Love doesn’t exist! Fuck, I can’t even get respect! He wanted me to meet him there. And what do I find when I get there Craig, with his tongue shoved down some blonde’s throat!” Frank’s voice kept growing louder in his tirade.

Mikey didn’t say anything as he got up. He grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured them each a drink.

“Here, drink this,” Mikey said as he pushed the cup into Frank’s hand.

The drink burned on the way down but Frank didn’t care. He needed to feel something other than disappointment.

“Relationships suck, MikeyWay,” Frank mumbled before grabbing the bottle and pouring more into his cup. “They suck and they don’t last and I don’t know why I let him talk me into dating him. This is just more proof that love doesn’t exist. How can it when there’s not even any respect in something casual?”

Frank then spent the rest of the night getting drunk and listing all the reasons why love didn’t exist. Frank didn’t care anymore; he was destined to be alone.

After the disaster with Craig, Frank just quit trying to hook up. He could live without sex. He could just hang with Mikey and Ray. They were amazing friends and he didn’t have to work at impressing them. Frank could just be himself, watch movies or play video games and not think about love. He had a plan, he was just going to finish school, get a job and some dogs and live happily ever after. He didn’t need love; he was convinced more than ever that love didn’t exist.

~*~

Alicia came into Mikey’s life, with her long black hair, huge brown eyes and a tattooed sleeve on her right arm, and changed it for the better. The difference in his friend amazed Frank. He wasn’t jealous; at least that was what he kept telling himself. He was so sure that love didn’t exist, but when he looked at the two of them, it made him wonder. Maybe some people were lucky enough to find love. The way Mikey and Alicia clicked, they had to be part of the lucky ones.

Frank had tried not spew out his anti-love ideas when Alicia was around, but she still noticed. Frank listened as she told him how there was someone for everyone and if Frank stopped fighting it, he would find that person. She didn’t even try to hook him up with anyone. She just told him to be patient; that his soul mate was just as miserable as he was. Frank really liked Alicia, but he didn’t believe her words.

~*~

“So Mikey, when are you gonna ask her?” Frank asked one day a couple of months later, while they were walking back to their dorm after class.

Mikey stopped and stared at Frank as if he thought Frank had grown another head.

“What?” Frank laughed out and grabbed Mikey’s wrist to get him moving again. “I can’t ask?”

“Yeah, I just never expected it from you, ‘Mr. love doesn’t exist.’ And I don’t know. Soon maybe?” Mikey answered with a smile that only appeared when he was talking about Alicia.

“She loves you, she’s gonna say yes,” Frank whispered as if it was a secret the world didn’t know.

Mikey asked Alicia a few weeks later when he took her to the diner where they had their first date. Frank really was happy for them. Even with all his doubts, somehow he knew that what they had was going to last.

“So, um, question.” Mikey said; his voice a little hesitant as he eyed Frank across the table.

“Hum?” Frank said raising an eyebrow.

“Will you be my best man?” Mikey asked with a hopeful, half smile on his face.

“Mikey, man of course! It’s your special day!” Frank said as he hopped up to give Mikey a hug.

Frank pulled back to see a smile from Mikey that said so much more than any words could.

* * *

“Gonna have to get your suit in the kids section, Iero?” Ray asked teasingly, as he stood off the side in his jeans and t-shirt and watched Frank.

“Fucker!” Frank exclaimed, as he stood just a little bit taller. “I’m not _that_ short!”

There was a cough from below him and Frank looked down to see Leo, the skinny old man who was trying to measure him for the tux, give him another annoyed look.

“Legs together please,” Leo requested with what looked like a plastered on smile.

Frank settled down and allowed Leo get all the measurements he needed. When Leo finished, he turned to Ray and motioned for him to come forward.

Leo’s younger assist pulled tux pieces from the racks and hung them on the door to one of the changing rooms. Frank eyed the tux that hung there; the thought of being confined by the bow tie and cumber bun made his skin itch. As much as he wasn’t looking forward to it, this was what Alicia wanted and of course, so did Mikey.

Mikey stood watching Ray with a worried look on his face. Gerard, Mikey’s brother, was going to be in the wedding as well and hadn’t arrived for his fitting yet. Frank was looking forward to meeting Gerard. Mikey had talked about him so much that he felt like he knew him, even though they hadn’t yet met.

The front door of the tux shop opened and Frank’s head turned up at the sound. A man with dark hair that hung in his face, ripped jeans and a hooded sweatshirt walked in. He looked up and flashed a huge smile; his bright hazel eyes seemed to land on Frank. It only took a moment to realize he was looking at Mikey, who was standing beside him. This had to be Gerard.

“Gee!” Mikey exclaimed walking over to wrap him up in a hug. “You’re late, Asshole.”

Gerard just smiled brighter and hugged Mikey tight. “Better late than forgetting about my favorite’ brother’s wedding,” Gerard spat back before they broke apart.

“I’m your only brother; of course I’m your favorite! Gee, this is Frank,” Mikey paused pointing to Frank, “And that’s Ray getting measured.”

“Hi!” Frank and Ray said together before Frank continued on, “Nice to finally meet you. I feel like I already know you.”

“I know what you mean,” Gerard said patting Mikey’s shoulder before moving past him to shake hands with Frank.

Mikey looked up at them in mocked confusion, which caused both men to laugh.

~*~

As the wedding got closer, Frank found himself texting Gerard a lot. They were the best men. Mikey had said there was no way he could choose between them, even though Frank told him that it should be Gerard. The texting had all started with Frank passing on messages about the wedding to Gerard from Alicia since she was sure Mikey would leave out important details. At some point, Gerard had started texting Frank with questions about music or little things he did during the day. Frank quickly found himself doing the same thing. Between the texts and phone calls that had started, they were spending less and less time talking about the wedding and more time talking about themselves.

It was a little less than a month before the wedding when Frank called Gerard in a panic.

“Gee! We forgot about the bachelor party,” Frank exclaimed into the phone without even saying hello.

“Frank?” Gerard said sounding a little confused.

“For Mikey. We have to plan a bachelor party and the wedding is soon and we forgot and he’s gonna be hurt if we don’t do this for him,” Frank explained in a rushed breath. He stopped talking when he heard a laugh coming from Gerard.

“Relax Frankie. There’s a show playing around here the weekend before the wedding. The three of you are going to come see me, we go to the show, come back here and get Mikey drunk off his ass as we watch movies the rest of the night.”

Frank could feel the smile that he was sure Gerard had on his face.

“When were you gonna tell me this, Asshole?” Frank spat back with a laugh.

“I just did,” Gerard replied as if everything was so obvious. “So, tell me about your day Frankie.”

A smile spread across Frank’s face and he tried really hard not to think about what it could mean.

~*~

Pressed up against the hot sweaty bodies in the pit with Mikey, Frank had a smile plastered on his face. He hadn't been to a show like this in way too long and loved being able to release of all the energy that he had. Mikey and Frank had left Gerard and Ray somewhere in the back of the club, the two of them went in headfirst when the pit formed and the music started. Frank's body moved with the crowd as he felt elbows dig into his side hard enough to leave bruises.

They both stayed in the pit until the music ended. Frank looked around for Gerard and Ray. He had seen Gerard a few times since they had met in the tux shop, but being around Gerard this time was different. They were closer, but it was more than that. His cock seemed to twitch when their eyes met and Frank thought about Gerard naked and pressed up against him. What he and Gerard had would never lead to love, he _knew_ that. Love didn’t exist! Everything in his life had proved that repeatedly.

Something in the back of Frank’s mind reminded him that Gerard was different. He was beautiful, smart, Frank could listen to him talk for hours. They had gotten very close over the last few months. He looked forward to Gerard’s calls and the random messages that he got during the day. Frank didn't want to admit that he smiled every time he thought of the other man or saw a message from him.

Frank shook his head, and pushed all his thoughts away as he locked eyes with Mikey. He put an arm around his friend and leaned into his ear. "Having fun yet MikeyWay? C'mon let's get you something to drink. It's your bachelor party and you are way too sober."

"Gee! Ray!" Frank yelled as he got closer to the other men, "MikeyWay needs something to drink. This is his party! He needs stories to tell when we are all too old to be doing this shit anymore!”

Ray ordered a round of drinks for all of them. The bar tender poured the shots and lined them up on the bar. The four men grabbed a shot and turned to each other.

“To MikeyWay!” Frank shouted over the crowd.

“To MikeyWay!” Gerard and Ray echoed before they all raised their glasses and downed the shots.

~*~

Frank found himself leaning against Gerard as they watched the movie. Mikey had passed out about half way through and Ray had followed shortly after. Gerard wrapped his arm around Frank as he pressed up against Gerard’s side. He had no idea how they had gone from sitting together on the couch to being snuggled together. He was sure the alcohol he had in his system had something to do with it, but he didn’t want to move away from Gerard’s embrace.

Gerard put a finger under Frank’s chin making him tilt up his head. A voice whispered _bad idea_ somewhere in the back of Frank’s head, but the moment Gerard leaned down and pressed their lips together, everything but the feeling of kissing Gerard was forgotten. Almost as soon as the kiss started, Gerard stopped. It left Frank feeling disoriented.

“Gerard?” Frank asked in a whisper.

“Yes Frankie?” Gerard whispered back.

“You kissed me?” Frank said more as a question than a statement.

“Yes. And I would like to do more of that, but not tonight,” Gerard said as he got up off the couch. “C’mon it’s late, let’s get some sleep.”

Frank looked at Gerard in confusion as the words replayed in his head. Gerard leaned down until his lips when almost touching Frank’s ear.

“Yes Frankie, I just asked you to share my bed,” Gerard whispered. “I sleep better when I have someone with me.”

Frank followed Gerard back to his room. Both men stripped off their jeans before they stumbled into bed. When Gerard pulled the blanket over both of them, Frank let the haze from the alcohol overtake him, never giving another thought to what he just did.

The next morning Frank thought things between them might get weird, but instead everything was just like any other morning after they had been out drinking. He had planned to talk to Gerard, but he knew that a conversation with either of the Way brothers before coffee was impossible.

Frank’s head buzzed with thoughts of the kiss. He felt so conflicted. He wanted to run away and forget last night had happened but at the same time, he wanted to feel Gerard’s lips on his again and feel their bodies pressed together as Gerard fucked him. He had to talk to Gerard and try to sort out the mess that was going on in his head, but he wasn’t alone with Gerard for more than a few minutes all day.

~*~

Later that week, Frank was studying for his math final when he heard a knock on the door. He tossed the book aside as he climbed off his bed.

“Mikey, if you forgot your key again I’m going to tie it around your neck!” Frank shouted out as he made his way to the door. “Gerard? What are you doing here?

“I’ve wanted to talk to you since the night of Mikey’s bachelor party, um, here I am?” Gerard said as a small smile pulled up the corner of his mouth.

“Come in. You want to talk here or we can go someplace else?” Frank asked as he looked for his phone.

“Mikey knows why I’m here, so we can stay here and talk. He said he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.” Gerard said as he sat down on Mikey’s bed across from Frank’s. “I didn’t mean to make things weird between us. I’ve wanted to do that for a while, and you were so close, I just couldn’t stop myself. But I won’t do it again, I mean, if you just want to be friends. I can do that, just be your friend.”

“I want that, I mean, more than just friends,” Frank paused to look up Gerard. “Why did you stop?”

“I didn’t want it to just be about sex. It’s more than that, already. Well, for me it is. I was afraid that if I didn’t stop that it would only be sex and then I wouldn’t have a chance for something more,” Gerard got up and sat down next to Frank before he continued. “You’re already important to me. I didn’t want to mess that up. But I need to know why you don’t believe in love. Not just the story about the last guy you dated, tell me everything. Because I’m afraid I might not be able to stop myself from loving you.”

“You can’t love me, Gerard.” Frank said as he sighed in defeat. “We might have a connection now, but for how long? One day, we’ll wake up and it’ll all be gone. Then what? Another break up where everyone involved ends up miserable, and we split everything down the middle, including our friends? We can hang out, have some fun and fuck around, but I can’t promise anything more than that.”

“Bull shit! You can’t tell me you don’t believe in love when you are so supportive of Mikey and Alicia. If you don’t believe in what they have, then why are you Mikey’s best man? You are going to stand up there, be his witness to something that’s going to change his life forever, and still tell me you don’t believe it? I don’t believe you Frank,” Gerard moved closer as if he was really trying to challenge Frank.

“That’s different, they are different. They are one of lucky few that have a chance of forever,” Frank said softly. “I don’t get forever.”

Frank looked up to see Gerard moving closer until Gerard was kissing him passionately. He felt his body relax into the kiss as Gerard wrapped his hand around the back of Frank’s neck. Gerard didn’t try to deepen the kiss, just kept kissing Frank. When Gerard finally broke the kiss he didn’t let go of Frank, just dropped his forehead to Franks.

“Let me be your forever, please Frankie,” Gerard said softly against Frank’s lips.

“But-“

Gerard cut Frank off before he could give him an excuse. “If you can believe in what Mikey and Alicia have, then you can believe in us. You don’t have to call it love, we can call it whatever you want.”

Gerard was kissing him again, licking at the corners of his mouth until he opened up. Frank hummed happily, as he felt the slide of Gerard’s tongue against his own. He knew Gerard was right; if he believed in what Mikey and Alicia had, he could believe in Gerard and him. However, Frank couldn’t think about it because Gerard pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him and kissed him harder.

“Frankie…” Gerard moaned out as he broke the kiss to lick and nip at Frank’s neck.

Frank slipped his hands under Gerard’s shirt and raked his nails up and down the other man’s back. He arched up to rub their cocks together through the fabric of their pants. Gerard bit down, sucking a mark on the tender skin just above Frank’s collarbone and pulled a moan from deep inside him.

“Fuck, Gerard,” Frank panted out as he pushed at Gerard. “Need to feel all of your skin.”

They both made quick work of stripping out of their clothes. Frank lay back down; his cock heavy and leaking against his stomach. Gerard’s eyes filled with lust as Frank fisted his own cock and slowly pumped it. Gerard moved closer and pushed his hand away, pressed their bodies together and kissed him hard and needy. They filled the room with sounds of desire as Gerard reached for Frank’s cock and jacked it slowly. Frank’s hips matched his stroke as he arched up into his lover’s touch.

Frank grabbed Gerard’s cock and mirrored the motion. His cock slipped in and out of Gerard’s hand and he babbled out wordless sounds that mixed with Gerard’s grunts, making a music of love and lust as they both neared completion. With a flip of his wrist over Gerard’s cock, his lover came with a shout. That was all it took for Frank to find his own release and spill over Gerard’s hand.

When their breath returned to normal, Frank grabbed the tissues and cleaned them both up. They curled together in Frank’s bed with a blanket wrapped tight around the both of them. Frank knew right then that what they had was more than just casual. He still wasn’t ready to call it love, he wasn’t sure if he would ever be ready to call it that, but what he had with Gerard was already more than anything he had ever had before in his life, and he couldn’t wait to see what would come next.


End file.
